Muskegon, Mich.-Muskegon County commissioners found themselves in a dilemma over a recently-passed ordinance banning the sale and use of phosphorus-based fertilizer. Under state law, local entities may prohibit use but not the sale, and must go through the lengthy process of passing a resolution and submit to a public hearing with the state if they want to change that. “The locals have been preempted from regulating the sale of fertilizer for the last six or seven years, if not longer,” Michigan Farm Bureau Legal Counsel Tonia Ritter told Green Markets. She recalled that agriculture interests tried but failed in the closing hours of the last legislative session to amend the state law to preempt local governments on both counts. According to press reports, Muskegon is still pondering its next move, but may not have to do anything. A quick check recently found that several retail outlets are voluntarily complying with the no-phosphorus rule, and several commissioners are planning to ask others to follow suit because they say it’s the right thing to do. “I’m just talking about going out and talking to people,” Commissioner Don Aley offered. “We’d have to be truthful and honest and tell them we don’t have a legal leg to stand on right now.” Muskegon became the first county in Michigan last year to prohibit phosphorus fertilizer at the urging of the Mona Lake Watershed Council, which reported out-of-control algae growth in area waterways. Violators can be fined $25.
Transparency Across the Fertilizer Value-Chain